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Combating Press Censorship

A Black Mark Acts as a Reminder to Journalists

Published on March 12, 2009.

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The International Society of Human Rights in Germany wanted to draw attention to governments around the world that exert too much control over the press, violating the right to free speech. It created what looked like fluorescent-yellow highlighters, branded with the ISHR message and distributed to journalists at a press conference on the subject of press freedom at the 2008 Olympic Games. However, the yellow ink was substituted with dense black ink, so instead of highlighting text, the pens left behind a censor bar on the paper. The message on the side of the pen read: "In many countries the press is censored every day. You can make a difference: www.IGFM.de"

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